The macula of the human eye, which is about 6 mm in diameter and covers the central 21.5 degrees of visual angle, is designed for detailed vision. The macula comprises a small cone-dominated fovea surrounded by a rod-dominated parafovea (Curcio 1990, J. Comp. Neurol. 292:497). Rods are responsible for vision in dim light while cones are responsive to bright light and colors. In young adults, the number of rods outnumbers cones by approximately 9:1. This proportion of rods to cones changes as individual's age. The health and function of the rod and cone photoreceptors are maintained by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the Bruch's membrane and the choriocapillaris (collectively referred to as the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex). The RPE is a dedicated layer of nurse cells behind the neural retina. The RPE sustains photoreceptor health in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, maintaining proper ionic balance, transporting and filtering nutrients, providing retinoid intermediates to replenish photopigment bleached by light exposure and absorbing stray photons. The RPE and the photoreceptors are separated by the choriocapillaris, which provides blood flow to the neural retina. Further separating the RPE and the choriocapillaris is the Bruch's membrane, a delicate vessel wall only 2-6 μm thick.
As the function of the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex is impaired, the result is deficient nutrient and oxygen transport to the photoreceptors and reduced clearance of by-products of bleaching, such as opsin. Therefore, as a result of the impairments of the function of the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex, the health and function of the photoreceptors may be impaired. This is especially true with the rod photoreceptors, which are responsible for scotopic, or dark-adapted vision. The impairment of the rod photoreceptors may lead to impairment in dark adaptation. Dark adaptation is defined as the recovery of light sensitivity by the retina in the dark after exposure to a bright light. In this regard, dark adaptation can essentially be viewed as a bioassay of the health of the RPE, the Bruch's membrane and the choriocapillaris, and impaired dark adaptation may be used as a clinical marker of disease states that impair one or more of the RPE, the Bruch's membrane and the choriocapillaris. Such disease states include, but are not limited to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD; which is also known as age-related maculopathy ARM), vitamin A deficiency, Sorsby's Fundus Dystrophy, late autosomal dominant retinal degeneration, retinal impairment related to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Patients with ARMD often have impaired dark adaptation as a result of the pathophysiology associated with ARMD. Dark adaptation may be particularly useful in this regard since deficits in dark adaptation generally occur before clinical manifestations of the disease state become evident.
Currently ARMD is the leading cause of new, untreatable vision loss in the elderly populations of the industrialized world (Mitchell 1995, Ophthalmology, 102:1450; Vingerling 1995, Ophthalmology, 102:205). With the increasing proportion of old adults in industrialized countries, the impact of ARMD on health care costs will worsen (Council 1998, Vision Research-A National plan 1999-2003; Executive Summary). ARMD is a heterogeneous disorder and is related to the breakdown of one or more components of the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex. As discussed above, impairment of the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex can impact the health and functionality of the photoreceptors and lead to impaired dark adaptation.
Early to intermediate ARMD is characterized by minor to moderate vision loss associated with extracellular lesions, and changes in the RPE pigmentation and morphology. The lesions between the RPE and the Bruch's membrane can be either focal (referred to as drusen) or diffuse (referred to as basal linear deposits). Advanced ARMD is characterized by severe vision loss associated with extensive RPE atrophy with or without the squelea of choroidal neovascularization (which is the in-growth of choroidal vessels through the Bruch's membrane and under the RPE in the plane of the drusen and/or the basal linear deposits). In the United States late stage ARMD accounts for 22% of monocular blindness and 75% of legal blindness in adults over the age of 50 (Klein 1995, Opthamol. Vis. Sci. 36:182). It is currently believed that ARMD is a multi-factorial process involving a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. The principal treatment for late stage ARMD is photocoagulation of the aberrant blood vessels comprising the choroidal neovascularization. However, only a subset of patients with existing neovascularization will qualify for such treatment.
A potential treatment approach is to prevent or delay the onset of late stage ARMD. For example, the Age-related Eye Disease Study (2002) indicated that the intake of several anti-oxidant compounds (such as beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E in conjunction with zinc and copper) was beneficial in preventing neovascularization in intermediate ARMD patients with drusen in both eyes, which places them at high risk for developing advanced ARMD (AREDS report no. 8, 2001). A number of therapeutics such as anecortave acetate (Retaane; Alcon Labs), pegaptabnib sodium (Macugen; Eyetech), ranibizumab (Lucentis; Genetech) and combretastatin (CA4P; Oxigene) are in various stages of development. Other treatment options under investigation range from brachytherapy to rheopheresis, and observational studies have been examining possible protective roles for anti-inflammatory and lipid-lowering drugs.
However, these approaches require that patients at risk for ARMD or other disease states that impact the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex and/or dark adaptation be identified early enough so that preventive measures can be undertaken. Furthermore, advising patients whether the risk and cost of a treatment is warranted requires the ability to monitor whether their disease progression is affected by their course of treatment. Such a diagnostic method suitable for widespread, clinical use is currently not available in the art. The present disclosure provides such a method to identify deficits in dark adaptation and describes an apparatus capable of carrying out said method. Such deficits in dark adaptation may be used to identify those at risk for developing disease states that impact the RPE/Bruch's membrane complex and/or dark adaptation and tracking the disease/treatment progression among those already affected by the disease.